Deputy Prinipal
Mr Simon Vaughan
I sincerely welcome all of our school community to the 2024 academic year. It has been great to see students back with smiling faces, reuniting with friends and talking to staff about their holidays.
This will be my 23rd year in education ranging from different areas of the state and no matter what organisation I have been a part of, the message of starting the new year correctly rings true. At St Stephen’s we have high expectations for our students in the areas of uniform and grooming along with individual scholarship and work habits. I firmly believe, with high support, students will reach the high expectations we have of them. However, we cannot do this alone and the home school partnership is growing ever critical. Our students are facing a variety of challenges and influences and positive outcomes can be achieved if the home is working in parallel to the College. Having open lines of communication to support young people is critical to ensuring not only academic success but personal success for our students.
I thought I would include a little bit about me this year for new parents and community members. My family, my wife and young boy, moved up to Far North Queensland at the end of 2017 after travelling to the Cape in June of that year. The lifestyle of the outdoors drew us here and I can say that it has been one of the best decisions we have made. I love camping, fishing and the outdoors and have a passion for horses. I love to travel and immerse myself in other cultures, experiencing the food and way of life for other people. With Covid a distant memory, I am hoping for more overseas trips in 2024.
I look forward to welcoming students, families and guests to our many events across the year, particularly our Opening Mass on Friday 9th of February where we have the pleasure of inducting our Year 12 students and Senior Leaders.
God Bless,
Simon Vaughan